


Neopets: The Shoryu King

by WrestleCrazyGamer



Category: Neopets
Genre: F/M, Post-Darkest Faerie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-14 23:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14146512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrestleCrazyGamer/pseuds/WrestleCrazyGamer
Summary: All seems to be at peace. Sir Tormund courts the princess of a northern kingdom where lady knights are very prominent, his daughter has dreams of becoming Meridell's first official Lady Knight, and he's just trying to be a good dad. That daughter will be forced to take up her sword for Neopia's sake as a king of an unknown land decides to rule Neopia itself...





	Neopets: The Shoryu King

Tor and Roberta are the heroes of Neopia. There isn’t a soul far and wide that hasn’t heard of how they stopped the Darkest Faerie. Tor had won the affections of many women from different kingdoms. Roberta was the eye of many who praised her magical skill and beauty. Even after five years Tor and Roberta’s heroism was still fresh in the people’s minds. One night Meridell had a ball in which King Skarl insisted that Tor attend.

“Sir Tormund, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” King Skarl smiled as he approached.

“Who might that be, Your Majesty?” Tor asked.

“May I present, Princess Asera of the northern Aklios Kingdom. I personally extended an invitation to her.” King Skarl replied, and a female Lupe bearing red fur approached wearing a black and blue formal gown.

“Greetings, Sir Tormund.” she greeted him with a slight curtsy.

“The Aklios Kingdom? The only ‘Asera’ I know of that hails from there is Asera the Black Blade, a Knight 1st Class.” Tor told King Skarl.

“Yes, well… Princess Asera and Asera the Black Blade are one and the same. I was shocked to learn of this as well. It seems that values on women are, shall we say, ‘different’ in Aklios.” King Skarl explained.

“You mean we’re treated as equals.” Asera scoffed.

“You let your temper flare too readily, princess.” an elderly male Scorchio mage bearing blue scales spoke as he approached.

“My temper is where it needs to be.” Asera told him.

“You can scour every inch of Meridell, you won’t find a Lupe like her anywhere!” King Skarl laughed heartily.

“I hear you aren’t too shabby with a sword, Sir Tormund. Perhaps you’d like to test your mettle against Akliosian swordsmanship?” Asera offered.

“Uh… I…” Tor responded fishing for an answer.

“My lady, courtship is handled very differently here in Meridell… a test of skill between suitor and suitee is not performed.” the mage explained to her.

“That’s so strange. How does Meridell promote strong bloodlines for future knights without performing that ritual?” Asera asked.

“You see, Sir Tormund, in our kingdom we often have raiders. To that end we make it a requirement that our knights perform a series of skill contests to test if either the groom or bride is of the highest caliber. Our knights boast some of the strongest names in history as a result of this selective breeding. Her Highness was born from similar mate-choosing rituals where many princesses competed for her father’s hand. Of course, these contests aren’t to the death so a participant can train themselves to improve and do better.” the mage explained to Tor.

“If father thinks I’ll suddenly marry someone in another kingdom by abandoning our customs he has another thing coming. It is tradition in our kingdom for royalty to perform the ritual.” Asera scoffed.

“Highness, you are not here as a soldier but a princess. You do not even have a sword.” the mage told her.

“When has anyone been able to stop me from bringing my sword wherever I go? It’s with Archibold in the stables.” Asera smirked.

“Not again…” the mage sighed.

“What’s this about marriage?” Tor asked.

“The point of this ball is to celebrate our courtship, Sir Tormund. I want to test you before I allow it to continue though.” Asera answered.

“Why wasn’t I told about this?!” Tor gasped in shock.

“Well, erm, very long story short we’ve been trying to establish peaceful relations with Aklios for a very long time. My father often waged war with her grandfather. I want to bury the past and look to the future of both our kingdoms.” King Skarl explained to him.

“I haven’t even gotten to know her.” Tor told his king.

“Please, Sir Tormund. Your marriage is our one ticket to peace with Aklios. The King of Aklios is not one to negotiate change on an approved agreement, often treating it as trying to take advantage of his generosity. Just getting an audience with him was a trial.” King Skarl pleaded.

“If I can’t escape this then I shall drag you down with me, Sir Tormund.” Asera told him.

“What choice do I have then…?” Tor sighed.

Many things happened between the two kingdoms after their courtship. The most notable being Tor meeting his father-in-law, who proved to be very intimidating as he was always dressed in full battle armor and bore a nasty scar over his left eye. The second most notable thing to happen was the birth of Princess Luna, Tor and Asera’s child. The Lupe princess had pink fur and was very energetic. 

Early in Luna’s life she found conflict between how she was being taught to act. She was taught the sword by her mother and taught to let nothing hold her down. Others taught her the mannerisms of a Meridell princess and how to act like a proper lady. She vastly enjoyed the freedom her mother spoke of and exhibited over being forced to study and be proper. This often led to her sneaking out of the castle to participate in the fighting arena. She was always thinking of becoming a knight someday, imagining how she’d stop fictional villains in her head. 

Reality is not always so nice and forgiving. Luna saw this in its entirety when her mother returned to the castle one day covered in horrendous injuries with a notorious Werelupe Warlord in tow. Contrary to what Luna usually saw on prisoner’s faces, the Werelupe looked satisfied. It was only ten years after that when her mother retired from active duty with a body covered in battle scars and many hard-fought victories for both Aklios and Meridell. 

“Mom… do you regret those scars?” Luna asked her one night.

“Regret them? Every scar I’ve received from battle is a trophy. They are proof that I won and lived on. A scar-riddled body is proof you have struggled and fought for your way of life. A body without scars hasn’t truly struggled to survive. I do not regret them. If I were given the chance to go back, I would make the exact same choices I had before.” Asera answered.

“So scars aren’t a bad thing…” Luna thought to herself.

One night though, Luna had a very strange dream. She saw the statue of the Darkest Faerie before a tall muscular black Shoryu man who was fully armored. He tore the amulet from the statue making the faerie revive falling to her knees coughing.

“I’m free once more… now who do I have to thank for this…?” the Darkest Faerie grinned.

“The true king of Neopia. I’ve come for your powers.” the Shoryu spoke.

“How cute… but I don’t do favor for favors.” she grinned attempting to blast him with purple lightning when he drew his sword revealing a glowing blue blade causing the attack to be drawn into it.

“That won’t work on me. One more thing… you misunderstood what I meant. I didn’t come for you, I came for your  **_powers_ ** .” the Shoryu spoke before suddenly running her through causing darkness to surge out of the faerie’s body and into the sword turning the blade’s glow purple. 

When he removed his blade there wasn’t a wound left behind, but the Darkest Faerie had completely flushed of color with her hair going to a very faded almost white shade of purple. She fell on her face gasping for air twitching, trying to move as the Shoryu turned leaving her there. Once outside he thrust his blade to the heavens sending a black bolt of electricity to the clouds making them multiply and swirl turning dark purple with black lightning striking as thunder rumbled. 

“With this power I can hunt down the other faeries and take their powers as well. Neopia… will… be…  **_mine_ ** …” the Shoryu laughed.

Luna woke with a cold sweat breathing heavily. The sun was barely shining over the horizon. The squires were already in the middle of their training in the courtyard. She had her mother returning from Aklios to look forward to though, as that traditionally meant another sword lesson since her father was too busy training the squires to train her. She happily completed her princess training in a quick and timely manner in preparation of her mother’s arrival. 

At the usual time her mother appeared a messenger Techo ran full speed into the castle straight to King Skarl. He skid to a stop and knelt down respectfully.

“King Skarl! It’s… it’s King Daedalus! He-He’s come to visit! I had… had to make sure you knew… before his arrival with Lady Asera...” the messenger blurted out of breath.

“Good work, messenger. Well, you heard him, it’s not every day a king takes the time to visit Meridell! Let’s have a grand welcome for our ally! Alert the cooks and maids! I was this castle in tip top shape!” King Skarl announced.

All at once the castle went into overdrive preparing for their arrival. To avoid being in the way Luna went into town, smuggling her practice sword and shield from her room hidden under the skirt of her dress. Once she was on the outskirts of Meridell she strapped her sword to her side and began fighting the air as if she had a real opponent. She was partially playing around but still practiced the basics of sword fighting. 

“Something still doesn’t feel right when I swing… the strokes aren’t as fluid as the squires either...” Luna groaned.

“Widen your stance a bit firmly planting your feet as you aim your blade. Do not waiver when you choose a target. Your sword will cut but you must be willing to put your full strength behind it.” a gruff male voice spoke as a tall muscular black-furred Lupe with a large scar over his left eye and is dressed in black and red armor not native to Meridell or Brightvale bearing a somewhat tattered black cape took her sword arm positioning it in line with her widened leg stance.

“U-Um…” Luna nervously spoke.

“Do not look away from your enemy. Picture your target and strike true to their body.” he ordered intimidating her into obeying.

“Oh…” Luna gasped realizing something from her swing.

“Practice using that stance. It’s used by true knights of Meridell and Brightvale alike. It perfectly balances one’s center of gravity for both striking and defending.” the armored Lupe smiled.

“Thank you, sir. I will.” Luna smiled curtsying respectfully.

“Meridell could use a knight like you in its future. Make sure that your sword is ready for it.” he grinned before taking his leave.

“Your Majesty, where are you?!” a voice called making the Lupe hasten his leave.

Very soon after fanfare began in Meridell Castletown. Luna hurried back to town to see a grand celebration put out. She was awestruck by the display before her. When Tor grabbed her shoulder from behind she about jumped out of her skin.

“There you are.” Tor sighed shaking his head.

“Hi dad…” Luna nervously chuckled.

“Just great, there’s dirt all over your dress. Go get changed, your grandfather is here.” Tor ordered.

“My grandfather? Is such a big welcome needed for that?” Luna asked curiously.

“Not my dad, your mother’s dad. He’s the king of your mom’s homeland up in northern Neopia.” Tor explained.

“I have more than one grandfather?!” Luna gasped in shock.

“I thought it should have been obvious.” Tor laughed.

Luna snuck into the castle hurrying to get washed up and into clean clothes. Once she was sure she was presentable, Luna made her way to the audience chamber. To her surprise, waiting there was the Lupe who gave her some instruction.

“Ah, so this is my granddaughter. Had I known sooner I would have made proper introductions when we met earlier. I am Daedalus, King of Aklios, and your grandfather.” the Lipe grinned.

“W-Welcome to Meridell, grandfather.” Luna spoke respectfully curtsying.

“She was outside with a sword again?!” King Skarl exclaimed.

“I’m pleased that she’s taken after her mother. I know she’ll be a wonderful addition to Meridell’s forces in the future. I’m glad you’ve started seeing things my way about women and combat, King Skarl.” Daedalus smiled warmly placing an encouraging hand on Luna’s shoulder.

“I… y-yes! Indeed. After careful consideration I decided to at least, erm, see how things go with inducting a few female squires. I haven’t chosen them yet though, as your visit was sudden.” King Skarl nervously chuckled.

“Ah, that reminds me… the main reason for my visit. The Soul of the Faeries has been stolen from Faerie Land’s depths.” Daedalus told him.

“The magic-eating sword?! That should be impossible… there are powerful magics that bind the room it rests within along with many guards and traps…” King Skarl spoke in a terrified manner.

“Excuse me sire, but did you say ‘magic-eating’?” Tor asked.

“Long ago Faeries were prone to getting into fights that would cause wars scarring the lands of Neopia. Fyora, Illusen, Jhudora, Mira, Taelia, and Siyana combined their powers to create a sword that could steal, or ‘eat’, the magic out of a Faerie leaving them in a severely weakened state unable to use their magic. The sword stores their power and can unleash it against those it stole from at the wielder’s whim. Its purpose was to stop any conflict between faeries by taking their magic away if they did not agree to stand down and find a compromise.” King Skarl explained.

“So what happened to it?” Asera asked.

“The kingdom they gave it to, due to the amount of fighting between faeries in that area, grew to believe that with the sword they could enslave faerie kind to rule Neopia. It almost worked…” Daedalus answered.

“What stopped them?” Luna asked in suspense.

“The same faeries that made the sword combined once more with the aid of countless other faeries to overpower it. They came to the consensus that the sword was too great a source of evil temptation to leave in the hands of us Neopets. So it was locked in the depths of Faerie Land. It’s a good thing the Darkest Faerie didn’t find it when she got free or we would have truly been in a bind.” King Skarl elaborated.

“This is troubling… her statue still hasn’t been found and that sword is on the loose…” Tor stated making Luna recall her dream.

“Last night I had a dream that a man in black armor had a peculiar sword and took the magic of a faerie that was petrified moments earlier… could that be the Soul of Faeries?” Luna spoke up.

“An omen, that… a very dangerous omen… tell me, what species was this man?” Daedalus asked.

“He was a Shoryu.” Luna answered.

“Bah, a dream is a dream. It could have been made up.” King Skarl scoffed.

“King Skarl!” a messenger cried hurrying into the audience chamber.

“Now what?” the king asked in agitation.

“T-T-T-T-The Darkest Faerie is collapsed at our door! She’s pale and seems to have a fever! W-W-W-We have no clue what to do, sire!” the messenger stuttered in a panic making Daedalus shoot Skarl a grin.

“Erm… put her in a guest room and send a messenger to Faerie Land immediately! Get a doctor for her as well… I guess...” King Skarl ordered.

“It seems that the Darkest Faerie was this man’s first victim. He must be targeting faeries with powerful magic.” Daedalus reasoned.

“Hers alone rivals Fyora’s magic… who else could he need?” Asera asked.

“Illusen… if no magic can harm the wielder then Illusen is in great danger! Without her magic Meridell is wide open to attack!” Tor exclaimed.

“We can’t spare many forces if this is true though…” King Skarl groaned trying to find a solution.

“I can go to Illusen. The enemy will expect armed knights to go to the glade, but not an unassuming girl like me.” Luna piped up.

“Luna, you can’t.” Tor told her.

“Now hold on, Sir Tormund… what she speaks is the truth. Both you and Asera are well-known in Meridell. From what I hear, Luna does a very good job of remaining out of sight and is generally unknown to the people. She could get out of town and to Illusen’s Glade without being detected. I would say it’s the best option.” Daedalus suggested to them.

“King Daedalus… are you saying you vouch for her?” King Skarl asked.

“I do. Not as her grandfather, but as King of Aklios. After all of the wars I’ve fought, I’ve picked up a knack for seeing potential in people. She’s been training with the sword for a long time, hasn’t she? Let her put her training to the test.” he answered with a confident grin.

“What do you think, Asera?” Tor asked.

“I think it’s the perfect opportunity for her to show us what she’s got. She’s our daughter after all.” Asera answered.

“It seems the odds are against me… very well, Princess Luna, you are to make for Illusen’s Glade and warn her of the danger.” King Skarl sighed in defeat.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Luna smiled curtsying respectfully.

She hurried to her room to fetch her sword and shield with glee. Luna had no clue how hard a real fight would be in a dress though. That was when her mother entered her room with a box.

“Mother?” Luna asked eyeing the box.

“I’ve been saving this outfit for you since you were born. It was a matter of when you would be able to wear it.” Asera told her while opening the box.

Inside was a suit of dark grey platemail with red accentation. The black pants that went with it was made from a sturdy material Luna had never seen in Meridell before too. The black gloves and boots were made of the same material. Emblazoned on the chest was the emblem of a Hissi in an S pattern bearing a sword through it that Luna had grown up seeing on her mother’s armor - the crest of the Aklios Royal Family.

“It is a tradition for Aklios Royalty that the child’s mother forge their first suit of armor. My mother forged the suit you’re so used to me wearing, and I am the one who forged this suit for you.” Asera explained to her.

“Thank you mom.” Luna smiled tearing up as she hugged her.

Luna changed into it and was amazed at how it fit like a glove without being too loose. With her sword and shield presented pridefully on her person, she set out feeling like a knight. The armor didn’t weigh her down at all as she ran either. It didn’t take her long to reach the glade entrance. Once inside it felt like the entire place was deserted. She made her way up to Illusen’s hut and found it to be empty.

“Lady Illusen…?” Luna called.

“She’s already left for Meridell.” a voice spoke alerting Luna to the presence of a red Eyrie woman dressed in all-leather attire with a bow on her back and a quiver of arrows at her hip. 

“What? That means coming here was a wasted trip…” Luna groaned.

“Not entirely. I was instructed to assassinate Meridell’s royalty after all. You’re the daughter of Lady Asera, which makes you royal.” the Eyrie grinned drawing her bow.

Luna was nervous drawing her sword and shield. Did she stand a chance against an assassin of all things? Dark clouds gathered in the sky and a flash of lightning gave Luna the opportunity to leap off the edge and begin to flee narrowly dodging an arrow in doing so. Arrows flew after her as she moved in an erratic pattern until she was beyond the assassin’s aim. It began pouring hard as she ran back toward Meridell. She skid to a stop at the entrance to town seeing several defeated knights at the feet of the Shoryu Knight.

“So not all of Meridell’s royalty remained in the castle…” the Shoryu spoke in a cold tone of voice turning to her.

“W-Who are you?!” Luna demanded to know readying for battle.

“I am to be King of Neopia… I am King Sovereign.” he answered.

“You won’t win!” Luna exclaimed charging him, but he merely stepped to the side tripping her so that she fell on her face.

“Fool. I’ve already won.” Sovereign chuckled aiming his sword at Meridell Castle.

The building began to warp and mutate into a much taller and complex black and silver castle. Sovereign then tossed Luna from the border line before entering town as the ground between the entrance and outside Meridell Castletown began to crack and fall apart leaving a fissure all around it. The land then raised from the ground and started to float into the air leaving Luna behind on the ground. A flash of light startled Luna and a moment later a very faded Illusen fell off the edge with a small box held in her arms. Luna was half-crushed when she caught her.

“My lady, what happened?” Luna asked.

“I had to… get out his targets… so I willingly risked my magic.” Illusen answered weakly as she gave Luna a peek into the box showing Meridell’s royalty and Luna’s family in bottles waving to tell her they’re okay.

“How do we stop him?” Luna asked.

“First… we must get… to Brightvale…” Illusen spoke before losing consciousness.

“Oh no… what do I do? I can’t carry her…” Luna panicked when a tall muscular scar-covered Werelupe dressed in burlap pants suddenly lifted Illusen startling her.

“Y-You’re that warlord!” Luna exclaimed in horror.

“Is that the story they fed you while I was locked away? I am no warlord, I am a freedom fighter. They mistook me for one of that infernal king’s generals and refused to believe otherwise.” the Werelupe scoffed.

“Why are you helping me…?” Luna asked.

“I do not hold petty grudges. Meridell needs aid, so I shall help bring it to them. Nothing more and nothing less.” he answered beginning to walk.

“How can I trust you…?” Luna asked.

“You have never been out of Meridell Castletown. I was born and raised in the Cursed Woods and the surrounding area of Brightvale. I know the way much better than you could ever hope.” he answered making Luna get a defeated look.

“I’m Luna.” she introduced herself hurrying to catch up with him.

“Raminas.” he introduced himself.


End file.
